State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Has $9.36 Million Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury decreased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 143,970 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,910 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $9,358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SYF. Senator Investment Group LP bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter worth $24,700,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 132.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 41,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,699,000 after buying an additional 23,669 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 492,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,003,000 after buying an additional 22,068 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 68.5% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 46,472 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,021,000 after buying an additional 18,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 103,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,697,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $44.00 price target (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Compass Point downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.95.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE SYF traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.39. 847,824 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,940,439. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.13, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.34. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $40.55 and a twelve month high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This is a boost from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is currently 16.46%.

Synchrony Financial Company Profile

Synchrony Financial, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer financial services company in the United States. It provides credit products, such as credit cards, commercial credit products, and consumer installment loans. The company also offers private label credit cards, dual co-brand and general purpose credit cards, short- and long-term installment loans, and consumer banking products; and deposit products, including certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, money market accounts, and savings accounts, and sweep and affinity deposits, as well as accepts deposits through third-party securities brokerage firms.